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Fables and Tales 


COLLECTED, RE-WRITTEN AND 
ITED BY 

FEROCHELEAU. 

W 






SECOND AND THIRD READER GRADES. 








CHICAGO: 


A. FLANAGAN, Publisher. 

omj 


AUU kQ 


























Copyright, 1897 

BY 

A. Flanagan. 



CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Aladdin’s Lamp. 108 

Alice and the Swallows. 21 

fj Androcles. 35 

Ant and the Dove, The. 70 

Ant and the Grasshopper, The. 42 

Ape in Boots, The. 22 

Ass and the Tap-Dog, The.. . 28 

Ass and the Lion’s Skin, The.. 40 

Bat and the Bird, The.. 14 

Bat, the Bird and the Beasts, The. 37 

Bee and Jupiter, The.. . 68 

Belling the Cat. 58 

Bundle of Sticks, The. 60 

Canary and the Hen, The. 23 

Cat and the Maiden, The. 60 

Charlie and Brindle. 10 

Child and the Dove, The. 20 

Dog, the Cock and the Fox, The. . 54 

Dog and the Hedgehog, The. 13 

Dog and the Manger, The. 44 

Dog and the Raven, The. 22 

Dog and the Wolf, The. 39 

Fisherman and the Little Fish, The. 50 

Fox and the Cat, The. 43 

Fox and the Crane, The. 32 

Fox and the Crow, The. 26 

Fox and the Goat, The. 62 

Fox and the Grapes, The. 40 

Fox and the Hound, The. 16 

Fox and the Monkey, The. 65 

Fox Without a Tail, The. 57 

Fred and Spot. 12 

Frog and the Ox, The. . 34 

Hares and the Frogs, The. 32 

Hare and the Tortoise, The.. 59 

Hare with Many Friends, The. 63 

Hart and the Hunter, The... 38 

Henry and the Duck. 18 

Hercules and the W'agoner. 55 

iii 










































iv Contents. 

Horse, the Hunter and the Stag, The. 41 

Jaqueline. 71 

Jay and the Peacock, The. 34 

Johnny and the Swan. 8 

King Log and King Stork. 30 

Knapsack, the Hat and the Horn, The. 87 

Laborer and the Nightingale, The. 53 

Little Mouse. 13 

Little Fish. 24 

Little Pigs and their Mother.. 15 

Lion and the Mouse, The. 29 

Lion and the Statue, The. 42 

Lucy and the Swan. 8 

Man, the Boy and the Donkey, The.. 56 

Man and the Satyr, The. 52 

Mary and Her Kitten. 17 

Mercury and the Workman.. 50 

Mice and the Weasels, The.. 67 

Milk Jug and the Water-Pail. 18 

Milk Maid and her Pail, The. 61 

Monkey and the Fisherman, The. 64 

Nurse and the Wolf, The. 45 

Oak and the Reeds, The. 69 

Paper Kite and the Birds, The. 11 

Pug and the Hound, The. 15 

Pug and Spitz. 9 

Puss and Poodle. 5 

Pussy. 19 

Queen Bee, The. 75 

Shepherd’s Boy, The.. 45 

Silly Chicken, The. 20 

Six Soldiers of Fortune. 79 

Thief and His Mother, The. 66 

Tinder-Box, The. 97 

Tommy. 73 

Tortoise and the Birds, The. 46 

Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, The. 25 

Traveler and the Lark, The. 11 

Two Crabs, The. 47 

Two Travelers and the Bear, The. 49 

Wolf and the Kid, The. 34 












































FABLES AND TALES. 


Puss and Poodle. 

Puss and Poodle were two pets. They belonged 
to a little girl whose name was Jennie. Poodle, as 
you all know, was a little dog, and he liked to 
tease Puss. 



When Puss wanted to get out of his way she 
would run up a large tree that stood near Jennie’s 
window, and sit on one of the branches. 

Then Poodle would come to the foot of the tree 
and bark and snarl, and make a great fuss. But 






8 


Fables and Tales. 


Puss would close her eyes and make believe she 
was asleep. After awhile Poodle would get tired 
and go and lie down. Then Puss would scamper 
off to play. 

Johnny and the Swan. 

The swan had a nice brood of young ones that 
she took down to the pond for a bath every morning. 

One morning she saw Johnny stealing through 
the bushes with a stone in his hand. The swan 
knew that Johnny was a naughty boy because she 
had seen him throw stones at the birds. 

So she said to him, “Master Johnny, you are 
a bad boy, and I think you want to kill one of my 
babies with that stone. Be off as fast as you can, 
and drop the stone, too, or I will show you how 
hard I can strike with my wings.” 

Then the swan stretched out her long neck and 
spread her wings and ran at Johnny. Like most 
naughty boys, he was a coward, so he dropped the 
stone and ran home crying. 


Lucy and the Swan. 

Little Lucy was Johnny’s sister. She was 
gentle and kind to all. One day she came down 
to the pond to see the swan. 


Fables and Tales. 


Q 


The swan was swimming gracefully on the 
water, and when she came near Lucy drew back. 
She was afraid of such a great, white bird. 


“Why are you afraid, little girl, I won’t harm 
you,” said the Swan. Her voice was so sweet and 



she looked so pretty that Lucy soon came back 
and watched her for a long time. 

The next morning Lucy took some bread to the 
pond with her, and the swan came up and ate it 
out of her hand. After that they were good 
friends. 


Pug and Spitz. 

Pug and Spitz belonged to the same master. 
One day Spitz found a nice bone. He thought no 
one saw him pick it up, and ran off and buried it 
so Pug would not get it. 





10 


Fables and Tales. 


Pug was peeking through a hole in the fence 
and saw Spitz when he found the bone, but could 
not see where he went with it. That evening he 
came up to Spitz, and said, very coaxingly, “Spitz, 
won’t you tell me where you hid that bone so no 
thief could find it ?” 

“O, no,” said Spitz, “you don’t catch me that 
way. The thief would be just the one who would 
want to know where it was.” 

Do you think Pug wanted to steal the bone ? 

Charlie and Brindle. 

Brindle was an ox, and was so gentle that 



Charlie came up to him one day while he was 
lying under a tree chewing his cud and said, 
“What are you thinking about, Brindle ?” 










Fables and Tales. 


11 


“ An ox can’t think,’’ said Brindle; “he can 
only chew.” 

Wasn’t that a queer answer? 


The Traveler and the Lark. 

A traveler was cheered on his way early one 
morning by the song of the lark. 

“How cheerfully you sing,” said the traveler. 
“Why are you so happy?” 

“I sing praises to God every morning for light 
and health and food,” replied the lark. “Do you 
praise Him, too?” 


The Paper Kite and the Birds. 

Some boys had a fine, large kite that would fly 
very high. When the little birds saw it they 
thought it was a big bird, and were frightened. 

“That great, ugly bird will surely eat us,” said 
one. 

“He will carry us off,” said another. 

“What big eyes he has, and how long his tail 
is,” said a third. 

Then they all flew home and told their mother 
what they had seen. “You need not be frightened,” 
said the mother. “That is a paper bird, and can 
fly only when the wind blows.” 


12 


Fables and Tales. 


Just then the wind stopped blowing, and the kite 
came down pell-mell. 

Fred and Spot. 

Fred had a puppy that he called Spot. Fred 
was fond of playing with Spot, and taught him 
tricks. 

“Come, Spot,” Fred would say, “now you must 
have your lesson.” Spot learned to sit up straight 



like a man, and to shake hands, and to speak for 
his food. 

Fred wanted to teach him to walk on his hind 
feet. This was not so easy, and he did not know 
how he could do it. At last he thought of a plan. 


















Fables and Tales. 


13 


Fred would take a piece of meat and hold it just 
high enough for Spot to reach with the tip of his 
nose when he stood on his hind feet. 

Then Fred would move back a step, and Spot 
would try to reach the meat. In this way he soon 
learned to walk across the room. Fred always 
gave him the meat when the lesson was finished. 


Little Mouse. 

“Little mouse, little mouse, why do you steal 
the sugar in my house?” said the lady. 

“Dear lady, forgive me, I pray; I have five little 
babies at home, all snug in their nest. They are 
so hungry you will let me have it, I know.” 

After that the kind lady put some sugar and 
crumbs on the hearth every day, and the little 
mouse came and carried them away to her nest. 


The Dog and the Hedgehog. 

“Now, Mr. Hedgehog, I’ll seize you here; you 
are caught.” 

“All right, Doggie, but mind what you’re 
about.” 

And the hedgehog rolled himself up in a ball, 
and stuck his quills out so they pricked the dog’s 
nose every time it touched him. 


14 


Fables and Tates. 


By and by doggie became angry, just as some 
boys do, and tried to bite the hedgehog through 
his quills. Then the hedgehog stuck doggie’s 
nose full of quills, and his master had to pull them 
out. Doggie’s nose was sore for a long time. 

Do you think he was sorry he tried to bite the 
hedgehog ? 


The Bat and the Bird. 

“Come to me, dear birdie, do,” said the bat. 
“I want you for my play-mate.” 

“No, no, Master Bat,” said Birdie, “you have 
such a little, dried-up face and such funny wings 



that I am afraid of you. I don’t want to be your 
play-mate.” 

“Ah, poor little I,” said the bat; “not a mouse 
nor a bird will play with me.” So she sat in a 


Fables and Tales. 


15 


dark corner alone all the day through. When 
night came she flew out and caught bugs and flies. 


The Little Pigs and Their Mother. 

“Children, now listen to me,” said their mother 
to some little pigs. “You must always keep your¬ 
selves neat and clean, and always look tidy so every 
one will be glad to see you. Now, don’t go run¬ 
ning through all the town, and don’t get into the 
mud-puddles.” 

But their mother ran into the first yard she 
found, and began to root up the flower beds. When 
the dogs drove her out she went to the nearest 
puddle and lay down in it. 

What do you suppose the little pigs did ? 


The Pug and the Hound. 

“I wouldn’t be a hound like you and have to 
run through the rain and mud,” said the pug. 

“I wouldn’t be a pug and sleep all day on a 
mat in a dusty room,” said the hound. 

“O, I like to lie on a warm, soft sofa,” said the 
Pug- 

“And I like to run and leap,” said the hound. 

The hound went hunting day by day. He 
ran over the hills and through the valleys, and the 


16 


Fables and Tales. 


fresh air kept him healthy and strong. But the 
pug kept so still and slept so much that he grew 
wheezy and fat and died while he was young. 

The Fox and the Duck. 

The duck was swimming-on the pond. The fox 
came creeping slyly through the reeds, but the 
duck saw him and kept away from the shore. 

“Come here, my pretty duck,” said the Fox. 
“I want to ask you a question.” 



U I could not teach you anything, Sir Fox,” said 
the duck; “besides I fear you want to eat me.” 

The fox was very angry because he could not 
outwit the duck. “If I could only swim,” said he, 
“I would make short work of her.” 








Fables and Tales. 


17 


Mary and Her Kitten. 

u O Kitty, Kitty, it’s wrong to scratch; give me 
your nice, soft paw.” 

“Yes, little Mistress, I’ll give you my paw, but 
I think it is right to let you know that it hurts 
when you pinch me and pull my tail.” 



Mary and Kitty played together all the morn¬ 
ing. If Mary pinched Kitty sometimes and made 
her cry, and if Kitty scratched in return, neither 
meant to harm the other for they were the best of 
friends. 






























18 


Fables and Tales. 


Henry and the Duck. 

“Now, good old duck, just tell me how many 
ducklings you have,” said Henry, as the duck 
and her brood came down to the pond. 

“I have not learned to count, my little boy,” 
said the Duck, “but do not think you could take 
one away without my knowing it. I watch each 
one with the greatest care.” 

Then she began to call the ducklings around 
her, and Henry gave them some crumbs of bread. 
After they had picked up all the crumbs they went 
into the water, and the little ducks swam by their 
mother’s side. 

Was Henry a good boy ? 

The Milkjug and the Water=Pail. 

The milk-jug was always thinking about how 
pretty it was and of what fine china it was made. 
One day it sat beside the water-pail on the hearth. 

“We can never agree,” said the jug;” “I am 
made of china and you of common wood. I sit on 
the table and serve my lady, but you are a drudge.” 

“Fine things are sometimes brittle and I am 
sure you are,” replied the pail. “You may not be 
worth as much as you think.” 

The very next day the cook cracked the milk- 
jug and made him leak. He was thrown into the 


Fables and Tales . 


19 


dust box and then into the river. But the plain 



old water-pail was good for more than three years 
after the jug was broken. 

Pussy. 

“Where are you going, Pussy, creeping along 
so slyly over the housetop? O, I see! You hope 
to catch that swallow; you think you will get him 
before he knows you are coming. But the swallow 
has sharp eyes, Pussy, dear, and will be off before 
you can reach him.” 

Just as Pussy was about to jump upon him, the 
swallow flew away. Pussy was angry and cross all 
day because she lost the swallow. But at night she 
caught what was better for her, a mouse. 














20 Fables and Tales . 

The Silly Chicken. 

A hen went into the garden with her brood of 
chicks to scratch for worms. She told all the little 
chicks to keep close to her, as the hawk or the cat 
might catch them if they strayed off alone. 

One little chick though the was safe anywhere, 
and he knew nothing could frighten him. So he 
wandered out of the gate. He kept going on and 
on, until he could not hear his mother’s voice. 
But he was not afraid. O, no. He went a little 
further, then what do you think he saw! On the 
fence, right over his head, lay the great black cat 
asleep. 

u Peep, p-e-e-p, p-e-e-p, O, which way did I 
come? Where is mamma?” cried the silly chick. 
He was so frightened that he did not know the 
way back. But the old hen had missed him, and 
began to cluck as loud as she could. At last he 
heard her, and ran back to the brood. 

He told his mother that he would never run 
away again. 


The Child and the Dove. 

A child saw a dove pulling the feathers out of 
her breast. The dove then put the feathers in her 
nest to make it soft and warm. 


Fables and Tales. 


21 


“That must hurt you, my gentle dove,” said the 

child. 

“Yes, it does hurt me,” replied the dove, “but I 
do not mind so long as I can keep my little ones 
safe and warm.” 



Then the child thought how careful his mother 
was of him, and how good he ought to be to her. 

Alice and the Swallow. 

“How glad I am that you have come back 
again,” said Alice to the swallow, as she opened 
her window one bright spring morning and saw 
the little bird on a branch near by. “Where have 
been, and what made you stay so long?” 

“I have been to a land far, far away, where it is 
summer all the year long,” said the swallow. 








22 


Fables and Tales. 


“But how did you find your way back, and who 
told you it was spring?” asked Alice. 

“God taught me,” replied the swallow. “He 
knows best when the birds should go and when 
they should return, so we never lose our way nor 
return too early.” 

The Ape in Boots. 

A hunter wished to catch an ape that was 
among the branches of a tall tree, so he pulled off 
his boots and hid in some bushes near by. The 
ape soon came down and put on the boots, as the 
hunter knew he would. 

“Now I’ll walk like a man; I wish some one 
were here to see me,” said the ape. But as soon as 
he began to walk the hunter came out from his 
hiding place. The ape started to climb the tree, 
but this he could not do with the boots on, so he 
was easily caught. 

The Dog and the Raven. 

“Here, Raven, stop, you thief, stop, I say, you 
are carrying off my meat!” 

“Pray, little dog, just keep quiet. I belong to 
the new police, and take what I need from those 
who steal. As you have done by others, so will I 
do by you.” 


Fables and Tales. 


23 


Whether what the raven said was true or not, 
I do not know. But the little dog did not tell of 
him when he flew away with his dinner. I think 
he did not care to tell how he came by the meat 
that the raven stole. 

The Canary and the Hen. 

The hen began to cackle on the door step while 
the canary was singing in her cage in the window. 

“Be quiet, can’t you, you noisy hen?” said the 
canary. “How can one sing amid such a cackling?” 


“I know my cackling is harsh and hoarse,” said 
the hen. “But look at the nice white eggs I lay; 
they’ll tell you why the farmer’s wife thinks so 
much of me.” 















24 


Fables and Tales. 


“Who is to settle this quarrel?” said the maid. 
“The truth is both are good; the hen for her eggs, 
and the canary for her song.” 


The Little Fish. 

A little fish and a big fiish were swimming in 
the brook. The little fish saw a fine fly floating 
over his head. He began to watch it greedily. 

“There’s a hook in that fly; don’t you see that 
boy on the bank?” said the big fish. 



But the little fish saw only the fly, and thought 
he knew best about it, so he seized the bait. He 
was snatched out of the brook and put into the 
the frying-pan. 


















Fables and Tales. 25 

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. 

A country mouse invited his city cousin to dine 
with him. He served a dinner of beans, oat meal 
and bacon, with a rind of cheese for desert. The 
dainty city mouse turned up his nose at such fare, 
though it was the best his poor cousin could set 
before him. 



\ \ 


i 


“ You live like an ant here,” said the city 
mouse. “Now I have a nice warm nest in the 
house, and more good things than I can eat; come 
and live with me and be happy.” 



















26 


Fables and Tales . 


“Agreed,” said the other, and they at once 
started for town. When they reached home, the 
city mouse said, “You must be hungry after such 
a long walk; let ns dine.” 

They went to the pantry where they found 
cake, jelly, figs, and some bits of nice cheese. 
Just as they began to eat, the cook came in and 
frightened them so they ran into a hole and waited 
for her to go out. 

In a short time they came back; one took a 
bite of the figs and the other began to nibble the 
cheese, when they heard the most dreadful noise in 
the next room. 

“ What’s that,” asked the country mouse, 
almost frightened out of his wits. 

u O, nothing but the dogs,” replied his cousin. 

“Well, good-bye, I’m off,” said the other. 

“ What, so soon,” exclaimed the city mouse. 

“Yes, you may stay here and enjoy yourself 
and grow fat if you can ; but give me my plain 
country fare in a home that is quiet and safe.” 

The Fox and the Crow. 

A crow stole a piece of cheese and flew into a 
tree with it in her beak. A fox saw her aud 
planned how he could get the cheese for his break¬ 
fast. 


Fables and Tales . 


27 


He came under the tree and said, “Good morn¬ 
ing, mistress crow, what a fine black dress you 
have on this morning. I always thought you one 
of the prettiest birds. 

“What a sweet voice you have, too; can’t yon 
sing a few notes for me ?” 



“ Caw, caw,” said the crow, feeling greatly 
pleased to hear such praise from the fox. 

But with the first caw, the cheese fell from her 
beak, and the wily fox caught it up and ate it; 
then he laughed and ran home. 

What do you suppose the crow thought ? 







28 


Fables and Tales . 


The Ass and the Lap=Dog. 

A man once owned an ass and a lap-dog. The 
ass was well treated; he had a good, warm stable, 
and all the hay and oats he wanted to eat. But he 
was often used to turn the mill to grind corn, and 
to carry heavy burdens to the field. 

The man was very fond of the dog, and often 
brought him choice bits to eat, and taught him 
many tricks. The dog loved his master, too, and 
would frisk and play about his feet, and sometimes 
get upon his lap. 

One day the ass saw his master playing with 
the dog, and said to himself “ Why must I have 
such a hard lot and do the work, while the dog can 
play all the time. I know what I will do; I will go 
and play with my master. Perhaps he will then 
love me, and treat me as well as he does the dog.” 

Soon after this he broke from his stall, and ran 
into the house. Kicking up his heels, he danced 
about the room, put his fore feet on his master’s 
shoulders, and even tried to get into his lap. 

He broke the table and smashed the dishes, 
and turned the furniture upside down. The 
servants heard the hub-bub, and came rushing in. 
With kicks and cuffs, and blows from a stout stick 
they soon drove the ass back to his stall. 

“ serves me right,” said he, “how foolish I 
was to try to be a lap-dog.” 


Fables and Tales. 

The Lion and the Mouse. 


29 


While a lion was asleep a mouse ran over his 
face and awoke him. The lion was angry and was 
about to kill the mouse when he plead piteously 
for his life. 

“ O, please no not kill me, Mr. Lion,” said the 
mouse, “ If you will only spare my life, I am sure 
I shall be able to repay your kindness some time.” 



The lion laughed and let the little captive escape. 
Soon after this a company of hunters caught the 
lion, and tied him fast with a strong rope. Then 
they went to find means to kill him. 

The mouse heard the lion roar, and came to 
see what had happened. 

“Never mind,” said the mouse, beginning to 
gnaw at the rope, “just keep still, and I will soon 
set you free.” 





30 


Fables and Tales. 


u I should like to know what a little thing like 
you can do,” roared the lion. But the mouse kept 
on gnawing the rope, and in a short time cut it off 
with his sharp teeth, and the lion was free. 

“ Now you see that I have been able to repay 
your great kindness to me, and that a mouse has 
a place in the world as well as a lion.” 

King Log and King Stork. 

Once upon a time, very long ago, a company of 
frogs lived in a pool. These frogs were very 
happy in their quiet pool with cool rushes and 
flags all around its banks. 



But some of them thought they ought to have 
laws, and some one to rule over them and keep them 
in order. They sent a petition to Jupiter asking 
for a king. 






Fables and Tales . 


31 


“Jupiter,” they cried, “ send some one to rule 
over us and keep us in order.” 

Jupiter laughed at their silly request, and threw 
down a huge log. It fell into the pool ker-splash. 
The poor frogs were frightened half to death by 
the noise, and hid in the deepest holes they could 
find. 

They soon saw that the log did not move and, 
one by one, came out on the bank to look at their 
king. In a few days they came to despise this 
king so that they would climb up and sit on 
him. 

After a while they thought Jupiter had not 
treated them well in sending such a helpless ruler 
to be their king, so they sent another petition to 
him. 

“ O, Jupiter,” they cried again, “ send us a real 
live king, one who can lead us and keep us in 
order.” 

Jupiter was angry at their second request, and 
sent a stork to rule over them. No sooner had the 
stork arrived than he began to gobble them up, 
and he kept on doing this day by day until he had 
eaten them every one. 

Don’t you think they would have been happier 
without a king ? 

Who was Jupiter? 


32 Fables and Tales . 

The Hares and the Frogs. 

The hares always fled when they heard the foot¬ 
step of any other animal. They finally became so 
timid that they resolved to end their lives in order 
to escape the dread of their enemies. 

They set out to cast themselves from a high 
precipice into the lake below. As they approached 
the water in such large numbers, they so frightened 
the frogs upon the bank that they rushed helter 
skelter into the water for safety. 

“ Stay,” exclaimed an old hare, “ things are not 
so bad after all, the frogs are more timid than we 
are.” 

• However unhappy we may be, we can usually 
find some one who is in a worse condition. 

The Fox and the Crane. 

The fox and the.crane became good friends, and 
the fox invited the crane to dine with him. He 
provided nothing but soup for dinner, and poured 
this into a shallow dish. 

The fox could easily lap up the soup, but, as the 
crane could only get the end of his long bill into 
the plate, he finished the meal as hungry as when 
he began. 

His attempt to eat the soup greatly amused the 
fox, but he pretended to apologize by saying that 
he was soriy the crane did not enjoy his dinner. 


Fables and Tales. 


33 


“O, do not apologize,” said the crane, “but come 
and sup with me soon.” “With pleasure,” replied 
the fox. 

The crane provided minced meat for supper, and 
served it in a deep jar with a long narrow neck. 
He could reach his long bill into the jar with ease 
and eat all he wanted. 



But as the fox could not get even the end of his 
nose into the neck of the jar, he had to content 
himself with lapping up the crumbs that fell from 
the crane’s bill. 

“ I will not apologize for the supper,” said the 
crane, “ for sometimes one cunning trick deserves 
another.” 








34 


Fables and Tales . 


The Wolf and the Kid. 

A kid had climbed to the roof of a high house. 
Looking down he saw a wolf in the yard. 

“ Ho, you thief and murderer,” cried the kid, 
“go back to your den; how do you dare to come 
where honest people live?” 

“Curse away, you young chatterbox,” said the 
wolf, “it is easy to be brave as long as you know 
that you are in a safe place.” 

The Jay and the Peacock. 

A jay wandered to a yard where some peacocks 
lived, and found some of their feathers, and tied 
them to his tail. 

“Now I can be a peacock,” thought the jay, and 
he began to strut around the yard. The peacocks 
soon saw that he was a cheat, and began to peck at 
him and pulled out all his false feathers. 

He then went back to the jays, but they had 
seen what he tried to do, and drove him away. 

The Frog and the Ox. 

An ox came to a pool to drink and trod upon a 
brood of young frogs, and crushed one of them to 
death. The others hopped to their mother and 
told her what had happened. 


Fables and Tales . 


35 


“O, mother,” said one, “ a great monster as big 
as a mountain, with two sharp horns, a long tail, 
and hoofs, came to the water and stepped on our 
little brother, and pushed him way down into the 
mud out of sight. I am sure he must be killed.” 

“That must be farmer Brown’s ox; he is not so 
large as you think,” said the mother. “ He may 
be taller than I but I am sure I can make myself 
as broad.” So she began to puff herself out. 

“Was he as big as that?” inquired the mother, 
having puffed herself out almost as large as she 
could. 

“ O, larger, a hundred times larger,” exclaimed 
the little frogs. 

“ As big as this ?” gasped the mother, stretching 
herself still more. “Yes, much larger,” said the 
children. 

So the old frog tried again, and puffed and 
puffed until she could do so no longer. Then she 
tried to ask again, “was he as big as—,” but just 
then she burst. 


Androcles. 

Androcles was a slave. He did not like slavery, 
so one day escaped from his master and ran to the 
forest. 

While looking for a place where he might hide, 
he came upon a lion. He was frightened and 


36 


Fables and Tales. 


started to run, but as the lion did not try to follow, 
he came back. 

As Androcles drew near, the lion held up his 
paw. Androcles saw that it was swollen and 
bloody. He took the paw in his hand, and found 
a large thorn in it. This seemed to be giving the 
lion much pain, so he drew it out and bound up 
the wound. 

The lion was soon able to put his paw on the 
ground again. He then came up to Androcles, 



and took him to his den and brought him meat 
every day. 

After a while the lion and slave were captured 
by the king’s hunters, and the slave was con¬ 
demned to be thrown to the lion after he had been 
several days without food. 

The king and all his officers came to see the 
cruel lion tear Androcles to pieces. The door of 



Fables and Tales. 


37 


the lion’s den was opened, and he bounded towards 
his victim with a loud roar. 

But as soon as he came near Androcles, and saw 
who he was, the lion began to lick his hands and 
face, and fawn around him like a huge dog. 

The king was surprised at this, and commanded 
Androcles to be brought before him. The slave 
told his story, and it so moved the king that he 
gave Androcles his liberty, and let the lion go back 
to the forest. 

The Bat, the Birds and the Beasts. 

The birds and the beasts were going to war to 
decide which should rule. The bat, not knowing 
which side would win, was afraid to join either. 

a Come with us,” said the birds. “ No, I’m a 
beast,” said the bat. 

u You belong to us,” said the beasts. “ O, no, 
I am a bird, cried the bat. 

The dispute was settled without a war, but both 
the birds and the beasts remembered what the bat 
had said. 

When he tried to join the birds, they drove him 
away, saying, “ You’re a beast, you’re a beast, we 
won’t have you with us.” 

Then he went to join the beasts, but they said, 
“ O, you are a bird; go and join the birds, we 
don’t want you.” 


38 


Fables and Tales. 


As the bat could not join either the beasts or the 
birds, he had to hide in caves during the day, and 
come forth only when the other animals were 
asleep. And the fable says this is why the bat 
flies at night. 

The Hart and the Hunter. 

A hart, as he was drinking from the river, saw 
his image in the water. 

“What a beautiful head and what noble antlers 
I have,” said he. “ I wish I had legs more worthy 
of carrying such a head. How crooked and slender 
my legs are; I am quite ashamed of them.” 



Just then a hunter sent an arrow whizzing past 
him. The stag bounded swiftly away on the legs 
he so despised, but his antlers caught in the 







Fables and Tales . 


39 


branches of some low trees and held him fast, so~ 
he was taken by the hunter. 

“Alas, alas,” he exclaimed, “my legs that I so 
despised were my only means of safety, while my 
antlers that I thought so beautiful have cost me 
my life.” 

The most beautiful things are not always the 
most useful. 


The Dog and the Wolf. 

A half-starved wolf met a house-dog on the road 
one day. 

“ Ah ha, cousin,” said the dog, “ I knew your 
roving life would keep you in want.” 

“ How is it,” said the wolf, “that you are always 
fat and sleek when I am always hungry, though I 
hunt all the time.” 

“Why,” replied the dog, “ I do not have to hunt 
for my food. All I have to do is to guard the 
house for my master, and the whole family pet me 
and bring me all the food I can eat. If you will 
come and live with me you can fare as well as I do.” 

“ I should like that, and will go with you at 
once,” said the wolf. As they trotted along the 
road, the wolf saw that the hair was worn off from 
a place on the dog’s neck. 

“ What did that?” asked the wolf. “O, that is 
only a place where my collar chafes my neck a 


40 


Fables and Tales. 


little; it is nothing, I soon get used to it,” replied 
the dog. 

“ Do you mean to say that yon are ever tied up,” 
exclaimed the wolf. “ O, yes, I am tied up during 
the night, but can go where I please during the 
day,” replied the dog. 

“ If that is the case, farewell,” said the wolf. 
“ Better free though I starve, than be a slave amid 
plenty.” 


The Fox and the Grapes. 


A fox had been all day without food, when he 
came to a grapevine loaded with fine clusters of 



nice, ripe grapes. The grapes were so high that 
the fox could not reach them. 




Fables and Tales . 


41 


He tried every trick he could think of, but each 
one failed. When he saw that he could not suc¬ 
ceed, he turned away and said, “The grapes are 
sour, anyhow, and I would not eat them if I 
could.” 

It may be that from this fable we get the old 
saying, “ There is good reason why Jack did not 
eat his supper.” 

The Horse, the Hunter and the Stag. 

The horse had a large plain for his pasture. 
A stag came to share it with him. This the horse 
did not like, for he was selfish and wanted the 
pasture all to himself. 

One day the horse asked the hunter to help him 
drive the stag away. “I will help you,” said the 
hunter, “but you must first let me put this piece 
of iron in your mouth so that I can guide you, and 
place this saddle on your back so I can sit firmly in 
it. Then I will take my bow and arrow and shoot 
the stag when you carry me near him.’ 

The horse consented to this and the stag was 
soon killed. 

“ Now take these things off and let me go free, 
said the horse. 

“Not so fast,” replied the hunter. “ I have just 
learned how useful you can be, and prefer to keep 
you in my service.” 


42 


Fables and Tales. 


The Lion and the Statue. 

A man and a lion were discussing which were 
the stronger, men or lions. “ Men are stronger 
because they are wiser than lions,” said the man. 
u Come with me and I will prove it.” 

So they went to the park, where he showed the 
lion a statue of Hercules overcoming a lion by 
tearing his jaws apart. 

“That proves nothing,” said the lion, “for man 
made the statue, and it is very easy to make things 
appear as we wish them to be.” 

Who was Hercules ? 

The Ant and the Grasshopper. 


The ants and the grasshoppers lived in a large 
field. The ants toiled each day to lay up a store 



of food for the winter. But the lazy grasshoppers 















Fables and Tales . 


43 


hopped and sang and laughed at the ants for work¬ 
ing so hard. 

One bright, winter day, as the ants were dry¬ 
ing their grain in the sun, a grasshopper came along. 
He was almost dead from hunger so he thought he 
would beg some food from the ants. 

“ Please give me some of your grain, I am 
almost starved,” said he. 

“ Why haven’t you food of your own?” asked a 
wise old ant. 

“0,1 was hopping and singing all the summer 
long ; I had no time to gather food,” said the grass¬ 
hopper. 

“ Well,” rejoined the ant, “ If you hopped all 
through the summer, you may as well hop supper¬ 
less to bed through the winter, for we ants 
neither borrow nor lend.” 

The Fox and the Cat. 

The fox was boasting to the cat of his cunning. 
“ I have more than a hundred ways for escaping 
from my enemies,” said he. 

“ I have only one,” said the cat, “ but with 
that I feel quite safe.” 

Just then they heard a pack of hounds coming. 

“ This is my plan,” said puss, and she scamp¬ 
ered up a tree and hid among the branches. 

The fox did not know which of his hundred 


44 


Fables and Tales. 


plans to choose, and while he was trying to decide 
the hounds caught him and gave him to the 
hunters. 

Which had the better plan? 

The Dog in the Manger. 

A dog crawled into an ox’s manger and lay on 
the hay. When the ox came tired and hungry 
from his day’s work, the dog began to growl and 
snap at him. 

“ Do you want to eat this hay?” asked the ox. 



“No, I never thought of such a thing,” replied 
the dog. 

“ I want it for my supper,” said the ox. 

“O, go away, snarled the dog, “I want to 
sleep.” 











Fables and Tales. 


45 


“ What a selfish fellow,” murmured the ox, as 
he turned away ; “ he neither eats the hay himself 
nor lets those who can.” 

The Shepherd’s Boy. 

A shepherd’s boy was left to watch a flock of 
sheep near a village. He thought it would be fine 
sport to play a joke on the neighbors, so he cried 
“wolf, wolf!” 

The neighbors came running to help him but 
he laughed, and when they saw the joke he had 
played they laughed too. 

He was so well pleased at his first joke that he 
thought he would try it again, so he called “ wolf, 
wolf!” the second time. But when the neighbors 
came rushing out the second time to find that it 
was only a joke, they were angry. 

After a time the wolf did come. Then the boy 
called for help in earnest, but the people said, “He 
is trying to play another joke on us,” and did not 
go to his assistance. 

The wolf killed the boy, and then ate as many 
sheep as he wished. 

The Nurse and the Wolf. 

A hungry wolf, prowling around for his break¬ 
fast, came to a cottage that stood near the forest. 
As he reached the yard, he heard the nurse say 


46 


Fables and Tales. 


to a crying baby, “.If you don’t stop crying thts 
minute I’ll throw you out the window to the 
wolf.” 

“ Now I am sure of a good breakfast,” thought 
the wolf, and he lay in the bush for many a long 
hour waiting for the baby to be thrown from the 
window. 

But the baby fell asleep, and towards evening 
the wolf heard the nurse say, “ You are a little 
dear, and if that naughty old wolf comes around 
we will kill him.” 

Upon this the wolf started home feeling vei f 
hungry and cross. On the way he met the fow, 
who asked him why he looked so sober. 

“O, don’t speak to me,” replied the wolf, u 1 
have gone hungry all day because I was foolis h 
enough to believe what a nurse said to a cryii g 
baby.” 


The Tortoise and the Birds. 

The tortoise thought he would like to go and 
live with the birds. He promised the eagle a 
large reward if she would take him to her nest. 

So the eagle seized him in her talons, and 
started for her nest, which was in the top of a tall 
pine. On the way she met the crow. 

“ Tortoise is fine eating,” said the crow. 

“ The shell is too hard,” said the eagle. 


Fables and Tales. 


47 


“The rocks will break that,” replied the crow. 
Then the eagle let the tortoise fall. His shell 



was broken and the birds made a good meal on him. 
Where does the tortoise live ? 


The Two Crabs. 

One bright, sunny day a little crab and his 
mother went for a walk on the sea shore. 

“ My son, why do you take such a one sided 
gait,” said the mother. u You are very awkward; it 
looks much better to walk straightforward.” 

“ Show me how, mother, and I will try,” said 
the young crab. 


48 


Fables and Tales . 


“ This is the way,” said the mother. Forget- 
ing she could not walk straight ahead herself, she 
started off, but her legs carried her to the right. 

“No, this is the way,” she repeated, and started 
again. However, this time her legs took her to 
the left. 



“Well, mother,” said the son, “when you can 
walk the way you wish me to, I will try to follow 
you.” 

Perhaps this is why people say, “ If you wish to 
lead one in a certain way, you must sometimes go 
that way yourself.” 

The Ass in the Lion’s Skin. 

An ass found a lion’s skin which some hunters 
had spread out to dry. He put it on, and roamed 
through field and forest frightening man and beast. 

This made him feel very proud, and when he 
saw the fox, he said, “ I will roar at him and give 







Fables and Tales. 


49 


him a terrible fright.” He then began to bray, 
but the fox laughed at him. 

“ O, you foolish fellow,” he cried, “ I know 
your voice too well to believe }'ou are anything but 
a donkey.” 

The Two Travelers and the Bear. 

Two travelers, passing through a forest, sud¬ 
denly met a bear. One of them sprang into a tree, 
^ud lay concealed among the branches. 

The other threw himself on the ground, and 
lay as still as though he were dead. He had 



heard it said that a bear would not touch a dead 
body. 

The bear felt of him with his nose and smelt 
him all over, and then went on his way. When 
he was at a safe distance, the man in the tree came 
down. 





50 


Fables and Tales. 


“ I saw the bear whispering to you,” he said to 
his friend, “what did he say?” 

“He told me,” replied the other, “never to 
trust a coward in the time of danger.” 

The Fisherman and the Little Fish. 

A fisherman, after toiling all day, caught one 
small fish. The fish wriggled and panted, and 
begged for his life. 

“ Of what use can I be to you, see how small I 
am,” said the fish, “throw me back into the river, 
I pray you; then I shall grow and become a large 
fish, and when you catch me again I shall be 
worth much more to you.” 

“ No,” said the fisherman, “ Now I have you 
in my hands I shall keep you. I should be fool¬ 
ish indeed to throw away the small fish that I 
have in hopes of catching a larger one by and by.” - 

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 


Mercury and the Workman. 

A workman was felling timber near a deep 
river, and by accident lost his axe in the stream. 
He sat down and began to lament over his misfor¬ 
tune, for the loss of his axe would keep him from 
earning a living. 


Fables and Tales . 


51 


Mercury came along and asked why he wept. 
The workman then told his story. Mercury 
plunged into the stream and brought up a golden 
axe, and asked if that were the one he had lost. 

But the honest workman told Mercury that it 
was not. Again he plunged into the water and 
brought up a silver axe, and asked if that were his. 
The workman said it was not. 



With the third plunge Mercury brought up the 
axe that had been lost. The workman claimed it. 
and was filled with joy at its recovery. 

Mercury was so pleased with the man’s honesty 
that he gave him the gold and silver axes as well 
as his own. When the workman returned to his 
house he told his companions what had happened, 

















52 


Fables and Tales . 


and one of them thought he would try to secure 
the same good fortune. 

So he went to the river and threw in his axe. 
Then he sat down on the bank to weep, when Mer¬ 
cury appeared, just as he had hoped he would. 

The man told his story, and Mercury plunged 
into the stream and brought up a golden axe as 
before. He asked the workman if that were the 
axe he had lost. 

The workman seized it greedily, and stoutly 
declared it was the very axe he had dropped into 
the water. This dishonesty so offended Mercury 
that he took away the golden axe, and refused to 
get the one thrown into the river. 

Honesty is the best policy. 

Who was Mercury? 

The Man and the Satyr. 

One cold, winter night a man lost his way in 
the forest. As he was wandering about he came 
upon a satyr, who promised to care for him and 
show him on his way in the morning. 

On their way to the satyr’s home, the man put 
his hands to his mouth and blew upon them. 

u Why do you do that?” asked the satyr. 

u My hands are numb with cold,” replied the 
man, “ and my breath will warm them.” 

The satyr prepared some soup for supper, and 


Fables and Tales . 


53 


set it before his guest smoking hot. Finding his 
soup too hot, the man began to blow it. “Why do 
you do that?” again asked the satyr. 

Because the soup is too hot and my breath 
will cool it,” replied the man. 

“ Be off with you then,” exclaimed the satyr, 
“ for I will have nothing to do with one who blows 
hot and cold with the same breath.” 

The Laborer and the Nightingale. 


After a laborer had retired to rest one night, a 
nightingale came and sang at his window. The 



caught the bird. 






























54 


Fables and Tales. 


“ Now I will put you in a cage and have you to 
sing for me every night,” said the laborer. 

“But we nightingales never sing.in a cage,” 
replied the bird. 

“ Then I will have you served up on toast for 
my breakfast, for I have heard that a nightingale 
makes a dainty morsel when served that way.” 

“ Nay, do not kill me,” pleaded the nightingale; 
“ only let me go, and I will tell you three things 
that will be of great value to you.” 

“Now what are they?” said the man, letting the 
little songster escape. 

And this is what the nightingale said. 

“ The first thing is, never believe the promise of 
a captive; the second is, keep what you have; and 
the third is, never sorrow over what is lost forever.” 

The Dog, the Cock and the Fox. 

A dog and a cock became great friends and 
agreed to travel together. When night came on 
they took shelter in a thick wood. 

The cock flew into a tree and perched on one 
of the branches, while the dog found a bed on some 
leaves in the hollow of the trunk. 

“ Cock-a-doo-dle-d-o-o,” crowed the cock several 
times as loud as he could at the break of day. A 
fox heard him and thought he would make sure of 
a good breakfast. 


Fables and Tales . 


55 


So tlie cunning fox came under the tree and 
asked the cock if he would not come down that he 
might become acquainted with one who had such 
a fine voice. 

“ My good friend,” replied the cock, “ I am not 
ready to go down just now, but if you would like 
to come up, go around the tree and awaken my 
porter and he will let you in.” 

When the fox came to the hollow of the tree 
the dog sprang upon him and tore him in pieces. 

As the cock looked down upon the scene he 
exclaimed, “ I think, Mr. Fox, that you found 
some one as cunning as you were.” 

Hercules and the Wagoner. 


A carter was once driving a heavy wagon along 



a country road, when the wheels sank into a rut 










56 


Fables and Tales . 


and stuck fast. The carter fell on his knees and 
began to call loudly on Hercules for help. 

When Hercules heard him, he exclaimed, 
u Don’t sprawl there bawling, man, but get up and 
put your shoulder to the wheel. The gods help 
those who help themselves.” 

The Man, the Boy and the Donkey. 

A man and his son with their donkey were on 
their way to market. They met a countryman who 
said, “ What is a donkey for, pray, if not to ride.” 

So the man put his son on the donkey’s back, 
and walked along by his side. They soon passed 
through the village, and one of a group of bystand¬ 
ers called out, “Just see that lazy boy on the don¬ 
key. If he had good manners, he would let his 
father ride.” 

The man then ordered the boy off and got on 
the donkey himself. But they had not gone far 
when they met a couple of women, and one of 
them exclaimed, “ Shame on that great lazy man 
to make his little son walk.” 

On hearing this the man took the boy up in 
front of him, and they came to town in this way. 
But the people began to laugh and jeer. 

“ What are you laughing at?” asked the man. 

“Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves,” said one, 
“ to half kill that poor donkey by both riding him?” 


Fables and Tales . 


57 


Both jumped off, but did not know what to do 
next. They thought a long time, and then found 
a long pole and tied the donkey’s feet to it and 
started to cross the bridge, carrying the donkey. 

Before they got across the donkey kicked one 
of his feet loose and jumped around so that he fell 
into the river and was drowned. An old man who 
had been watching them said, “Try to please all 
and you will please mo one.” 

The Fox Without a Tail. 

A fox once caught his tail in a trap and lost it. 
He felt so ashamed, and was so afraid of being 
laughed at by the other foxes that he hid in a cave 
for a long time. 



He became very lonely, and thought he could 
not live in the cave any longer, so he called a 
large number of foxes together and advised them 
to cut off their tails. 



58 


Fables and Tales. 


He said that the tail was very heavy and always 
in the way, and that they might be caught by it at 
any time. He was much happier without a tail. 

“ All that may be true, my good friend,” 
replied a sly old fox, u but I think you would not 
advise us to cut off our tails if you had not lost 
your own.” 

Some say misery likes company. 

Belling the Cat. 

The mice suffered so much from their old 
enemy, the cat, that they called a council to plan 
how they might get rid of her. They talked over 
many plans, but none of them seemed good. 

A young mouse then arose and said, “ I have 
a plan which I think will succeed. We all know 
that our greatest danger lies in the sly manner in 
which Puss steals upon us. Let us get a little bell 
and tie it on the cat’s neck. Every time she 
moves the bell will ring, and we shall hear her in 
season to run away.” 

All agreed that this was just the plan until a 
wise old mouse asked, “ But who will tie on the 
bell?” Each little mouse looked at the other, but 
no one answered a word. 

Pretty soon they began, one by one, to steal 
away to their holes, and the council broke up 
with the question, “ Who will bell the cat?” 


Fables and Tales . 


59 


The Hare and the Tortoise. 

The hare ridiculed the tortoise for his short 
legs and slow gait. The tortoise laughed and 
replied, “ Though you are so nimble and swift, I 
can beat you in a race.” 

This the hare was certain the tortoise could 
never do, so she invited him to race with her for a 



wager. The fox was to chose the course and fix 
the goal. 

When the race began the hare darted swiftly 
away, and was so sure of winning that she thought 
she could stop on the way and rest. But she fell 
asleep and rested longer than she intended. 

The tortoise never thought of stopping, but 
kept jogging along until he reached the goal. 

When the hare awoke she started on as fast as 
she could run, but the tortoise had already reached 


60 


Fables and Tales. 


the goal, and when the hare arrived she found hi:a 
taking a nap. So the tortoise won the wager. 

“The race is not always to the swift, nor the 
battle to the strong.” 

The Bundle of Sticks. 

An old man had three sons who were always 
quarreling among themselves. When he was about 
to die he called his sons around him and gave them 
a bundle of sticks, asking them to break it. 

The eldest tried first, but the sticks were h_o 
strong for him. Then the second son tried, and 
the third, but neither could break the bundle. 

The father then had the bundle untied, at d 
gave a single stick to each. “ Now break it,” he 
said, and each easily broke his stick. 

“ My sons,” said the old man, “learn from this 
that as long as yon love each other and are united, 
nothing can harm you. But if you continue \o 
quarrel you will destroy your own usefulness.” 

The Cat Maiden. 

The gods fell to disputing whether an animal 
could change its nature or not. Jupiter said it 
could; Venus said it could not. 

To prove his statement, Jupiter changed a cat 
into a beautiful maiden, A young man soon fell 
in love with her and took her for his bride. 


Fables and Tales. 


61 


As they sat at dinner in their home one day, 
the gods looked down upon them. 

“Just see how well the bride appears,” said 
Jupiter; “you would never suspect she was once a 
cat.” 

“Just wait a moment,” said Venus, sending a 
mouse into the room. 

As soon as the bride saw the mouse she jumped 
up and tried to pounce upon it and eat it. 

“ You see,” said Venus, “ that nature will come 
out.” 

Who was Venus? 


The Milkmaid and Her Pail. 

Mattie, the milkmaid, was on her way to town 
to sell her pail of milk. She set the pail on her 
head, and fell to thinking what she would do with 
the money it would bring. 

“ I can sell this milk for enough money to buy 
three hundred eggs,” she thought. “ I will set the 
eggs, and the chickens will be ready for market at 
the time they will bring the highest price; there 
will be at least two hundred and fifty of them. 

“ I shall then have enough money to buy me a 
nice, new frock, and the prettiest hat I can find. 

“I know this will make Mollie Wood and the 
other girls jealous, but I don’t care. If they look 


62 


Fables and Tales. 


cross at me, I will just toss my head this way, and 
let them see—” 

With the toss of her head down came the pail, 
and all the milk was spilt. 

Poor Mattie went home sobbing, and told her 
mother what had happened. 



and hat that I forgot all about the pail on my head,” 
she said. 

After listening to her story, her mother said, 
u My daughter, never count your chickens before 
they are hatched.” 

The Fox and the Goat. 

A fox fell into a deep well and was unable to 
jump out. A goat came to the well to drink, and, 
seeing the fox, asked him if the water was good. 





Fables aiid Tales . 


63 


The fox praised the water, and urged the goat 
to come down and drink. The goat was very 
thirsty, and jumped in without stopping to see how 
deep the well was. 

The fox then told him the well was so deep 
that neither could get out by himself. u But,” 
raid he, “if you will stand on your hind feet and 
/ *t me run up your back, I can get out. Then I 
v'dll help you.” 

The goat thought this a good plan, and stood 
> p and reached as near the top of the well as he 
• mid. Then the fox ran up his back and escaped. 

“ Now turn about and help me,” called the goat 
r s the fox started to run off. 

“ O, I couldn’t think of it,” answered the fox; 
next time, look before you leap.” 

The Hare with Many Friends. 

The hare was so gentle and pleasant that .she 
became very popular with the beasts, and all 
claimed to be her friends. 

One day she heard the hounds coming and 
thought she would ask them to help her escape. 

She first went to the horse and asked him to 
take her on his back. “ I am very sorry,” replied 
the horse, “but I have work to do for my master. 
7 think the ox will help you.” 

The hare then asked the ox if he would not 


64 


Fables and Tales . 


drive the hounds away with his horns. He 
excused himself by saying that he must go and 
meet a lady, but thought the goat would help her. 

So she went to the goat. “ I should be glad to 
do anything I can for you,” said the goat, “ but I 
fear my back would hurt you if I should let you 
get on it. I am sure the ram can serve you much 
better.” 

But the ram said he had rather be excused, as 
hounds had been known to eat sheep as well as 
hares. The hare at last went to the calf, but the 
calf said that he did not wish to be responsible for 
her safety when so many older people had refused. 

By this time the hounds were near at hand, and 
the hare took to her heels, and luckily escaped. 

What do you learn from this fable? 

The Monkey and the Fishermen. 

Some fishermen came to the river and cast in 
their nets. A monkey perched in a high tree 
watched them closely. After awhile the men 
went home to dinner and left their nets on the 
bank. 

“ Now I’ll catch some fish,” said the monkey. 
He came down and tried to do just as he had seen 
the men do. He picked up the net and turned it 
over two or three times, and then threw it into the 
stream. But in handling the net he became 


Fables and Tales . 


65 


entangled in such a manner as to be dragged into 
the water, and was drowned. 



“ It serves me right,” he said to himself, “ I had 
no business to handle the nets; I am not a fisher¬ 
man.” 


The Fox and the Monkey. 

A monkey once danced before the beasts and 
pleased them so well that they made him their 
king. The fox envied the monkey, for he wanted 
to be king. 

One day the fox found a piece of meat in a trap 
so he went to the monkey and said, “ I have found 
a rich treasure, but have kept it for our king; come 
and get it.” 












66 


Fables and Tales . 


King Monkey did not suspect the fox was play¬ 
ing him a trick, and went carelessly to the trap and 
seized the meat. Of course he was caught. He 
then accused the fox of purposely leading him into 
a trap. 

“ Well,” replied the fox, “if you haven’t brains 
enough to know a trap when you see it, how are 
you ever going to be king over all the beasts?” 

Only the wise should attempt to rule. 

The Thief and His Mother. 


A boy once stole a book from his school-mate 
and brought it home to his mother. Instead of 
punishing him, she praised him for being so shrewd. 



He next stole a cloak and brought her, when she 
praised him still more. 

The boy kept on stealing until he became a 
man. At last he was caught in the very act, and 






Fables and Tales. 


67 


was condemned to death, for this was in an old 
country and a long time ago. 

His mother followed him to the place of execu¬ 
tion weeping and beating her breast. When the 
son saw her, he said that he wished to whisper to 
her. She came close to him, and he stooped down 
and bit off her ear. 

The mother then called him a cruel and wicked 
son, whereupon he replied, “If you had punished 
me when I first stole the book, I should not have 
come to this. Now I must die a disgraceful death.” 

The woman then complained to the priest, 
but he said that her son was right; for if she had 
taught him to be honest when he was a boy, he 
would not have been a thief when he became a 
man. 


The Mice and the Weasels. 

The mice and the weasels waged a perpetual 
war, and much blood was shed. The weasels were 
always the victors. 

The mice thought they were defeated because 
they had no leaders, so they chose the oldest and 
wisest mice for generals and captains. 

The generals arranged the army in companies 
and regiments, and drilled the soldiers for the 
fight. When all was ready they sounded the call 
to battle. 


68 


Fables and Tales. 


The generals bound straw on their heads that 
they might be easily seen, but the battle had 
scarcely begun when the mice were routed and 
scampered off to their holes. The generals and 
captains could not get away on account of the 
ornaments on their heads, and the weasels caught 
and ate every one of them. 

The more honor, the greater the danger. 

The Bee and Jupiter. 

A bee went to Mount Olympus, the home of 
Jupiter, to present him with some honey from her 
combs. The honey was so nice and pleased Jupiter 
so well that he promised the bee anything she 
might ask of him. 



she thought it would be well if all bees could have 
some means of defending themselves against man 
when he came to get their honey. 







Fables and Tales. 


69 


So she said to Jupiter, “Give me, I pray thee, 
a sting, that when man comes to get my honey I 
may kill him.” 

Jupiter loved man, and the request displeased 
him, but he could not refuse on account of his 
promise. 

“Your request shall be granted,” he replied, 
“but it will be at the risk of your own life, for 
when you use your sting, it shall remain in the 
wound you make, and you will die from the loss of it.” 

One cannot injure others without injuring him¬ 
self. 


The Oak and the Reeds. 

A giant oak grew on the bank of a stream, and 
many little reeds clustered about its roots. 

The oak boasted of its size and strength, and 
asked the reeds why they did not send their roots 
down deep into the earth and rear their heads like 
him. 

“We are very well contented where we are,” 
said the reeds. “ Besides, we feel safer down here 
than we should up so high.” 

“ I am so strong,” replied the oak, “that noth¬ 
ing can harm me, and I am much safer than you.” 

In a few days a hurricane arose and uprooted 
the oak, while the reeds, bending before it, were 
unharmed. 


70 


Fables and Tales. 


u Now you see,” said the reeds “ that a humble 
position is a safe one.” 

The Ant and the Dove. 

An ant went to the bank of the river to drink, 
and was carried away by the current. She was in 
great danger of being drowned, when a dove that 
was sitting on the branch of a tree near by, dropped 
a leaf so that it fell at her side. The ant climbed 
on the leaf, and was soon safe on dry land. 



A bird catcher came under the tree and began 
to lay his snare for the dove. The ant stung him 
on the heel, and caused him to give such a start 
that he frightened the dove away. 

This is how the little ant showed that she 
could repay a kindness. 











Fables and Tales. 


71 


Jaqueline. 

To begin with, Jaqueline was a monkey. 
When she was about two and a half years old, she 
was brought to live in the Garden of Plants in 
Paris. 

She was gentle and kind, and very playful, so 
she soon became a great favorite with all the visi¬ 
tors. Jaqueline had a good memory, and remem¬ 
bered the friends who came to see her often. She 
would run up and caress them, and in other ways 
try to tell how glad she was to see them. 



Like all monkeys, Jaqueline tried to do every¬ 
thing she saw others do. One day a gentleman 
who came to see her laid his gloves on the table. 
Jaqueline picked them up and tried to put them 
on. As she tried to put the left-hand glove on her 
right hand, she did not succeed. The gentleman 







72 


Fables and Tales . 


then showed her the mistake, and she could always 
put the gloves on right after that. 

An artist drew Jaqueline’s picture, and she 
seemed very much surprised when he showed it to 
her. She wanted to draw, too. 

The artist gave her some paper and a pencil, 
and she seated herself at the table like a little girl 
at school, and began to mark. She drew some 
lines and figures, and would have been amused 
with this work for a long time, but she bore on so 
heavily that she broke the point off the pencil 
every time she made a mark. 

Jaqueline had seen the artist put the pencil to 
his lips, so she, like a good many little boys and 
girls that I have known, put her pencil in her 
month. She bit it so hard that she bit the end off, 
and the artist had to take it away. 

Jaqueline had a dog and cat that she was very 
fond of. She always let them sleep with her, one 
on each side. But she let them know that she was 
mistress, and when they did not obey, often pun¬ 
ished them as a mother might her children. 

Poor Jaqueline saw people wash their hands 
and faces every morning, and thought she must 
do the same. 

Now, while clear, cold water is good for boys 
and girls to wash in every morning, it is not good 
for a monkey, because a monkey is not accustomed 


Fables and Tales. 


73 


to it. Jaqueline took cold from so much washing, 
and died of consumption. 

How would you like Jaqueline for a pet? 

Tommy. 

Tommy was a little boy monkey, and came 
from Africa. When he was very young a cruel 
hunter shot his mother, and brought Tommy to 
the coast. There he was sold to an English gen¬ 
tleman, and taken on board a ship to be carried to 
his master’s home. 

Tommy soon became very much attached to his 
master and an old lady who took care of him. 
This lady dressed him in a frock, and he then 
looked very much like a little, dried-up old 
man. 

Whenever the lady sat down, Tommy would 
go and climb into her lap and want to play. He 
was very fond of picking at the ruif on the neck of 
• her dress: But the lady would say, “No, no, 
Tommy, you must not pull the pin out of my col¬ 
lar.” He would then sit awhile and amuse himself 
by pulling his toes, just like a baby. 

When the lady tried to put him down, he would 
cling to her and cry, and when she started to leave 
the room, he would hold on to her dress and walk 
beside her still crying. She would then give him 
a raw potato and he would go away happy. 


74 


Fables and Tales. 


One day when Tommy was playing about the 
room, his master placed a mirror on the floor so he 
could look in it. As soon as Tommy saw his 
image in the mirror, he stopped playing and stood 
quite still, looking at it for several minutes. 



He showed very plainly by his looks that he 
wondered -where that monkey came from and how 
he got into the room. If monkeys could only talk 
I think he would have asked a great many ques¬ 
tions about it, don’t you? 

After looking at his image for a while, Tommy 
looked up at his master with an expression which 
seemed to say, “Please tell me where he came 




Fables and Tales. 


75 


from.” Then he came slowly up to the glass and 
placed his lips to it as if he would kiss the monkey 
on the other side. Then he looked behind the 
mirror, and seemed surprised not to find any one 
there. 

Tommy liked to swing as well as any boy, and 
would sit in the swing for hours with his hands 
hold of the ropes, just as you or I would. 

Tommy was quick to learn, and his master 
taught him many tricks while he was crossing the 
ocean. He could open a box, eat with a fork, and 
drink from a wine-glass as well as a man. He was 
also full of fun, and when given the freedom of the 
ship, would play more pranks on the sailors than 
six boys could ever think of. 

Which do you like better, Tommy or Jaqueline? 

The Queen Bee. 

Two kings’ sons once started to seek adventures, 
and fell into a wild, reckless way of living, and 
gave up all thoughts of going home again. Their 
third brother, who was called Whitling, had re¬ 
mained behind and started off to seek them. When 
at last he found them, they jeered at his simplicity 
in thinking that he could make his way in the world, 
while they who were so much more clever were 
unsuccessful. But they all three went on together 
until they came to an ant-hill, which the two eld- 


76 


Fables and Tales . 


est brothers wished to stir up that they might see 
the little ants hurry about in their fright and carry 
off their eggs. But Whitling said, “Leave the lit¬ 
tle creatures alone, I will not suffer them to be 
disturbed.” 

And they went on farther until they came to a 
lake, where a number of ducks were swimming 
about. The two oldest brothers wanted to catch a 
couple and cook them, but Whitling would not 
allow it, and said, “Leave the creatures alone, I 
will not suffer them to be killed.” 

And then they came to a bee’s-nest in a tree, 
and there was so much honey in it that it over¬ 
flowed and ran down the trunk. The two eldest 
brothers then wanted to make a fire beneath the 
tree, that the bees might be killed by the smoke, 
and then they could get at the honey. But Whit¬ 
ling prevented them, saying, 

“Leave the little creatures alone, I will not suf¬ 
fer them to be killed.” 

At last the three brothers came to a castle 
where there were in the stables many horses stand¬ 
ing, all of stone, and the brothers went through all 
the rooms until they came to a door at the end 
secured with three locks. In the middle of the 
door was a small opening through which they 
could look into the room. They saw a little grey¬ 
haired man sitting at a table. They called out to 


Fables and Tales . 


77 


him once, twice, and he did not hear, but at the 
third time he got up, undid the locks, and came 
out. Without speaking a word, he led them to a 
table loaded with all sorts of good things, and 
when they had eaten and drunk, he showed to each 
his bed-chamber. 

The next morning the little gray man came to the 
eldest brother and brought him to a table of stone. 
On this table were written three things, telling how 
the castle could be delivered from its enchantment. 
The first thing was, that in the wood under the 
moss lay the pearls belonging to the princess —a 
thousand in number—and they were to be sought 
for and collected. If he who should undertake the 
task had not finished it by sunset,—if but one 
pearl was missing,—he must be turned to stone, 
so the eldest brother went out, and searched all 
day, but at the end of it he had only found one 
hundred; just what was said on the table of stone 
came to pass and he was turned into stone. The 
second brother undertook the adventure next day, 
but it fared with him no better than with the first; 
he found two hundred pearls, and was turned into 
stone. 

And so at last it was Whitling’s turn, and he 
began to search in the moss. It was a very 
tedious business to find the pearls, and he grew so 
out of heart that he sat down on a stone and began 


78 


Fables and Tales. 


to weep. As lie was sitting thus, up came the ant- 
king with five thousand ants, whose lives had been 
saved through Whitling’s pity. It was not very 
long before the little insects had collected all the 
pearls and put them in a heap. 

Now the second thing ordered by the table of 
stone was to get the key of the princess’s sleeping 
chamber out of the lake. 



When Whitling came to the lake, the ducks 
whose lives he had saved came swimming, and 
dived below and brought up the key from the 
bottom. 

The third thing that had to be done was the 
most difficult, and that was to choose out the 
youngest and lovliest of the three princesses, as 
they lay sleeping. 

All bore a perfect resemblance to each other, 
but before they went to sleep each had eaten a dif- 













Fables and Tales. 


79 


ferent kind of sweetmeat. The eldest a piece of 
sugar, the second a little syrup, and the third a 
spoonful of honey. Now the queen-bee of those 
bees that Witling had protected from the fire came 
at this moment. She tried the lips of all three, 
and settled on those of the one that had eaten the 
honey, so the king’s son knew which to choose. 

The spell was then broken; every one awoke 
from his stony sleep, and each took his right form 
again. Witling married the youngest and loveliest 
princess, and became king after her father’s death. 

Six Soldiers of Fortune. 

There was once a man who was a Jack-of-all- 
trades. He had served in the war, and was a brave 
and bold soldier. At the end of the war he was 
sent about his business with only three farthings 
for his pay. 

“I am not going to stand this,” he said. u Wait 
till I find the right man to help me, and the king 
shall give me all the treasures of his kingdom.” 

Then he went into the forest, and saw a man stand¬ 
ing by six trees which he had rooted up as if they 
had been stalks of corn. And he asked him if he 
would be his man, and go with him. 

“All right,” answered the other. “Just letmetake 
this bit of wood home to my father and mother.” 
He then took one of the trees and bound it round 


80 


Fables and Tales . 


the other five, and carried the bundle off on his 
shoulder. Then he went along with his leader, who 
said, “Two such men can stand against the world.” 

When they had gone on a little while, they 
came to a huntsman who was kneeling on one 
knee and taking careful aim with his rifle. 

“Huntsman,” said the leader, “what are you 
aiming at?” 

“Two miles from here,” he answered, “there 
sits a fly on the bough of an oak-tree, I mean to. 
put a bullet in its left eye.” 

“Oh, come along with me,” said the leader; 
“three of us together can stand against the world.” 

The huntsman was quite willing to go with 
him, and so they went on till they came to seven 
windmills, whose sails were going round briskly, 
and yet there was no wind blowing from any quar¬ 
ter, and not a leaf stirred. 

“Well,” said the leader, “I cannot think what 
ails the windmills, turning without wind.” He 
went on with his followers about two miles farther, 
and then they came to a man sitting up in a tree, 
holding one nostril and blowing with the other. 

“Now then,” said the leader, “what are you do¬ 
ing up there?” 

“Two miles from here,” he answered, “there 
are seven windmills; I am blowing, and they are 
going round.” 


Fables and Tales . 


81 


Oh, go with me,” cried the leader, “four of us 
together can stand against the world.” 

So the blower got down and went with them, 
and after a time they came to a man standing on 
one leg, and the other had been taken off and was 
lying near him. 

“You seem to have found a handy way of rest¬ 
ing yourself,” said the leader to the man/ 

I am a runner,” answered he, “and in order to 
keep myself from going too fast I have taken off a 
leg, for when I run with both, I go faster than a 
bird can fly.” 

“Oh, go with me,” cried the leader, “five of us 
together may well stand against the world.” 

So he went with them all together, and it was 
not long before they met a man with a little hat 
on, and he wore it just over one ear. 

“Manners! manners!” said the leader; “with your 
hat like that, you look like a jack-fool!” 

“I dare not put it straight,” answered the other, 
“if I did, there would be such a terrible frost that 
the very birds would be frozen and fall dead from 
the sky to the ground.” 

“Oh, come with me,” said the leader; “we six 
together may well stand against the whole world.” 

II. 

So the six went on until they came to a town 
where the king had caused it to be made known 


82 


Fables and Tales. 


that whoever would run a race with his daughter 
and win it might become her husband, but that 
whoever lost must lose his head into the bargain. 
And the leader came forward and said one of his 
men should run for him. 

“Then,” said the king, “his life, too, must be put 
in pledge, and if he fails, his head and yours, too, 
must fall.” 

When this was quite settled and agreed upon, 
the leader called the runner, and strapped his sec¬ 
ond leg on to him. 

“Now, look out,” said he, “and take care that 
we win.” 

It had been agreed that the one who should 
bring water first from a far distant brook should 
be accounted winner. Now the king’s daughter 
and the runner each took a pitcher, and they 
started both at the same time; but in one moment, 
when the king’s daughter had gone but a very lit¬ 
tle way, the runner was out of sight, for his run¬ 
ning was as if the wind rushed by. In a short 
time he reached the brook, filled his pitcher full of 
water, and turned back again. 

About half-way home, however, he set down his 
pitcher and lay down on the ground to sleep. But 
in order to awake soon again by not lying too soft, 
he had taken a horse’s skull which lay near and 
placed it under his head for a pillow. 


Fables and Tales . 


83 


In the meanwhile the king’s daughter, who 
really was a good runner, good enough to beat an 
ordinary man, had reached the brook, and filled 
her pitcher, and was hastening with it back again, 
when she saw the runner lying asleep. 

“The day is mine,” said she with much joy, 
and she emptied his pitcher and hastened on. And 
now all had been lost but for the huntsman who 
was standing on the castle wall, and with his keen 
eyes saw all that happened. 

“We must not be outdone by the king’s daugh¬ 
ter,” said he, and he loaded his rifle and took so good 
an aim that he shot the horse’s skull from under the 
runner’s head without doing him any harm. And 
the runner awoke and jumped up, and saw his 
pitcher standing empty and the king’s daughter 
far on her way home. But, not losing courage, he 
ran swiftly to the brook, filled it again with water, 
and for all that, he got home ten minutes before 
the king’s daughter. 

The king was vexed, and his daughter still more 
so, and they took counsel together how they might 
rid themselves of him and his companions at the 
same time. 

“I have a plan,” said the king. Then he went 
out to the men and bade them to feast, and be 
merry, and eat and drink. He led them into a 
room which had a floor of iron, and the doors were 


84 


Fables and Tales. 


iron, and the windows had iron frames and bolts. 
In the room was a table set with costly food. 

“Now, go in there and make yourselves at 
home,” said the king. 


III. 

When they had gone in, he bad the door locked 
and bolted. Then he called the cook and told him 
to make a great fire underneath the room, so that 
the floor would become red hot. 



The cook did so, and the six men began to feel 
the room growing very warm, by reason, as they 
thought at first, of a good diuner. But as the heat 
grew greater and greater, and they found the doors 
and windows fastened, they began to think it was 
a plan of the king to roast them. 

But the man with a little hat set his hat straight 
on his head, and there came such a frost that all 






Fables and Tales. 85 

the heat passed away, and the food froze in the 
dishes. 

After an hour or two, the king thought they all 
must have perished in the heat, and caused the 
door to be opened, and went in himself to see how 
they fared. When the door flew back, there they 
were all quite safe and sound. They said they 
were quite ready to come out so they might warm 
themselves, for that room was so cold that, all the 
food froze in the dishes. The king went to the 
cook and scolded him, and asked why he had not 
done as he was ordered. 

“It is hot enough there, as you may see for 
yourself,” answered the cook. When the king 
saw the great fire burning underneath the room of 
iron, he began to think that the six men were not 
to be got rid of in that way. So he sent for the 
leader and said to him, 

“If you will give up your right to my 
daughter, and take gold instead, you may have as 
much as you please.” 

“Certainly, my lord king,” answered the man; 
“let me have as much gold as my servant can 
carry, and I give up all claim to your daughter.” 
And the king agreed that he should come again in 
a fortnight to fetch the gold. The man then called 
together all the tailors in the kingdom, and set 
them to work to make a sack, and it took them a 


86 


Fables and Tales . 


fortnight. And when it was ready, the strong man 
who had been found rooting up trees took it on his 
shoulder and went to the king. 

IV. 

“Who is this fellow carrying on his shoulder a 
bundle of stuff as big as a house?” cried the king, 
terrified to think how much gold he would carry 
off. And a ton of gold was dragged in by sixteen 
strong men, but he put it all into the sack with 
one hand, saying, 

“Why don’t you bring some more? this hardly 
covers the bottom!” So the king bade them fetch 
by degrees the whole of his treasure, and even then 
the sack was not half full. 

“Bring more!” cried the man; “these few scraps 
go no way at all!” Then at last seven thousand 
wagons laden with gold collected through the 
whole kingdom were driven up; and he threw them 
in his sack, oxen and all. 

“I must make an end of this,” he said; “if it is 
not full, it is so much the easier to tie up,” And 
he hoisted the sack on his back, and went off with 
his comrades. 

When the king saw all the wealth of his realm 
carried off by a single man he was full of wrath, 
and he bade his cavalry mount, and follow after 
the six men, and take the sack away from the 
strong man. 


Fables and Tales . 


87 


Two regiments were soon up to them, and told 
them they were prisoners, and to deliver up the 
sack, or be cut in pieces. 

“Prisoners!” said the man who could blow, 
“suppose you first have a little dance together in 
the air,” and holding one nostril, and blowing 
through the other, he sent the regiments flying 
heels over head, over the hills and far away. 

But a sergeant who had nine wounds and was 
a brave fellow, begged not to be put to so much 
shame. And the blower bade him go to the king 
and tell him that whatever regiments he liked to 
send more should be blown away just the same. 
When the king got the message, he said, 

“Let the fellows be; they have some right on 
their side.” So the six comrades carried home 
their treasure, and divided it among them and lived 
to a good old age. 

The Knapsack, the Hat, and the Horn. 

Once there were three brothers, and they grew 
poorer and poorer, until at last their need was so 
great that they had nothing left to bite or to break. 
Then they said, “This will not do; we had better 
go out into the world and seek our fortune.” 

So they set out, and went some distance 
through many green fields, but they met with no 
good fortune. One day they came to a great wood, 


88 


Fables and Tales . 


in the midst of which was a hill, and when they 
came near to it, they saw that it was all of silver. 
Then said the eldest, 

“Now here is good fortune enough for me, and 
I desire no better.” 

And he took of the silver as much as he could 
carry, turned round, and went back home. But 
the other two said, 

“We must have something better than mere 
silver,” and they would not touch it, but went on 
farther. After they had gone on a few days 
longer, they came to a hill that was all of gold. 
The second brother stood still and considered, and 
was uncertain. 

“What shall I do?” said he; “shall I take of the 
gold enough to last me my lifetime, or shall I go 
farther?” 

At last he filled his pockets as full as they 
would hold, bade good-bye to his brother, and went 
home. But the third brother said to himself, 

“Silver and gold do not tempt me; I will not 
gainsay fortune, who has better things in store for 
me.” 

So he went on, and when he had journeyed for 
three days, he came to a wood still greater than 
the former ones, so that there was no end to it; 
and in it he found nothing to eat or to drink, so 
that he was nearly starving. He got up into a 



Fables and Tales. 


89 


high tree, to see how far the wood reached, but as 
far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but 
the tops of the trees. And as he got down from the 
tree, hunger pressed him sore, and he thought, 

“Oh that for once I could have a good meal!” 

And when he reached the ground, he saw to 
his surprise a table beneath the tree richly spread 
with food that smoked before him. 

“This time, at least,” said he, “I have my 
wish,” and without stopping to ask who had 
brought the meal there, and who had cooked it, he 
came to the table and ate his fill. 

II. 

When he had finished, he thought, “It would 
be a pity to leave such a good table-cloth behind in 
the wood,” so he folded it up neatly and pocketed it. 
Then he walked on, and in the evening, when 
hunger again seized him, he.thought he would 
put the table-cloth to the proof, so he brought it 
out and said, 

“Now I desire that you be spread with a good 
meal,” and no sooner were the words out of his 
mouth, than there stood on it as many dishes of 
delicious food as there was room for. 

“Now that I see,” said he, “what sort of a cook 
you are, I hold you dearer than the mountains of 
silver and of gold,” for he saw that it was a wish¬ 
ing cloth. Still he was not satisfied to settle down 


90 


Fables and Tales. 


at home with only a wishing-cloth, so he deter¬ 
mined to wander farther through the world and 
seek his fortune. One evening, in a lonely wood, 
he came upon a charcoal burner at his furnace, 
who had put some potatoes to roast for his supper. 

“Good evening, my black fellow,” said he, “how 
do you get on in this lonely spot?” 

“One day is like another,” answered the char¬ 
coal burner; “every evening I have potatoes; have 
you a mind to be my guest?” 

“Many thanks,” answered the traveller, “I will 
not deprive you; you do not expect a guest; but if 
you do not object, you shall be the one to be 
invited.” 

“How can that be managed?” said the charcoal 
burner. “I see that you have nothing with you, 
and if you were to walk two hours in any direc¬ 
tion, you would meet with no one to give you any¬ 
thing.” 

“For all that,” answered he, “there shall be a 
feast so good that you have never tasted the like.” 

Then he took the table-cloth from his knapsack 
and spread it on the ground. “Cloth, be covered,” 
said he, and there appeared at once boiled and roast 
•meat, as hot as if it had just come from the kitchen. 
The charcoal burner stared, but did not wait to be 
asked twice. He fell to and filled his mouth with 
bigger and bigger pieces. • When they had finished 


Fables and Tales . 91 

eating, the charcoal burner wanted to buy the 
table-cloth. 

“Look here,” he said, “your table-cloth would 
not be a bad thing for me to have here in the 
wood, where cooking is not first rate. I will strike 
a bargain with you. There hangs a soldier’s knap¬ 
sack in the corner, which looks old and unsightly, 
but it has wonderful qualities. As I have no fur¬ 
ther use for it, I will exchange it for the table¬ 
cloth.” 

“I must first know what these qualities are,” 
returned the other. 

“I will tell you,” answered the charcoal burner. 
“If you strike it with your hand, there will appear 
a corporal and six men with swords and muskets, 
and whatever you wish to have done they will do.” 

“Well, for my part,” said the other, “I am quite 
willing to make the exchange.” And he gave the 
table-cloth for the knapsack. He slung the knap¬ 
sack over his shoulder, and took his leave. Before 
he had gone far, he began to want to make a trial 
of his wonderful knapsack so he struck it a blow. 
At once seven soldiers appeared. 

III. 

“What does my lord and master wish?” said 
the corporal. 

“March in haste to the charcoal burner and de¬ 
mand my wishing cloth,” said the man. They 


92 


Fables and Tales. 


wheeled round to the left, and were not long before 
they had taken away, without wasting many words, 
the wishing cloth from the charcoal burner. 

The man then dismissed them, and wandered on. 
He expected still more wonderful luck. About 
sunset he fell in with another charcoal burner, who 
was getting his supper ready at the fire. 

“Will you join me?” said this black fellow; 



“potatoes and salt, without butter; sit down to it 
with me.” 


“No,” answered he, “this time you shall be my 
guest.” And he spread out his table-cloth, and it 
was directly covered with the most delicious vic¬ 
tuals. So they ate and drank together and were 
merry. After the meal was over the charcoal 
burner said, 

“Over there, on the bench, lies an old worn-out 
hat, which has wonderful properties; if you put it 











Fables and Tales. 


93 


on and draw it well over you head, it is as if a 
dozen field-pieces went off, one after the other, 
shooting everything down, so that no one 
can stand against them. This hat is of no use to 
me, and I will give it to you in exchange for the 
table-cloth.” 

“All right,” answered the other, taking the hat 
and carrying it off, and leaving the table-cloth be¬ 
hind him. Before he had gone far he struck upon 
the knapsack, and summoned his soldiers to fetch 
back the table cloth again. 

“First one thing, and then another,” thought 
he, “just as if my luck was never to end.” And 
so it seemed, for at the end of another day’s jour¬ 
ney he came up. to another charcoal burner, who 
was roasting his potatoes just like the others. He 
invited him to eat with him off his wishing-cloth, 
to which the charcoal burner took such a fancy, 
that he gave him for it a wonderful horn. If a 
man blew on it down fell all walls and fortresses, 
and finally towns and villages in heaps. So the 
man gave the table-cloth in exchange for it to the 
charcoal burner, afterwards sending his men to 
fetch it back. At last he had in his possession 
knapsack, hat, and horn, all at one time. 

“Now,” said he, “I am a made man, and it is 
time to go home again and see how my brothers 
are faring.” 


94 


Fables and Tales. 


IV. 

When he reached home he found that his 
brothers had built themselves a fine house with 
their silver and gold, and lived in clover. He went 
to see them, but because he wore a half-worn-out 
coat, and a shabby hat, and carried the old knap¬ 
sack on his back, they would not recognize him as 
their brother. They said, “It is of no use your 
giving yourself out to be our brother; he who 
scorned silver and gold, seeking for better fortune, 
will return in great splendor, as a king, and not as 
a beggar-man.” And they drove him from their 
door. 

Then he flew into a great rage, and struck upon 
his knapsack until a hundred and fifty men 
stood before him in rank and file. He ordered 
them to surround his brothers’ house, and that two 
of them should take hazel-rods and should beat the 
brothers until they knew who he was. There 
arose a terrible noise, and the people ran together 
and wished to rescue the brothers, but they could 
do nothing against the soldiers. 

It happened that the king heard of it, and sent 
his troops to drive the disturber of the peace out of 
the town. But the man with his knapsack soon 
called a greater number of soldiers, who beat back 
the king’s troops, and sent them away with bloody 


noses. 


Fables and Tales. 


95 


Then the king said this vagabond fellow must 
be put down. So the next day he sent even a 
larger company against him, but they could do 
nothing. The man called more men than ever, 
and in order to bring them quickly, pulled his hat 
twice lower over his brows. Then the heavy guns 
began to play, and the king’s troops were beaten 
and put to flight. 

“Now,” said the man, “I shall not make peace 
until the king gives me his daughter for my wife, 
and lets me rule the whole kingdom in his 
name.” 

“This is a hard nut to crack,” said the king to 
his daughter. “There is no choice but for me to 
do as he asks. If I wish to have peace and keep 
the crown on my head, I must give in to him.” 

V. 

So the wedding took place, but the king’s 
daughter was angry that the bridegroom should be 
a common man, who wore a shabby hat, and carried 
an old knapsack on his back. She wished very 
much to get rid of him, and thought day and night 
how she might manage it. Then it struck her 
that perhaps all his power lay in his wonderful 
knapsack. So she pretended to be very fond of 
him, and when he was in good humor, she said to 
him, “Pray lay aside that ugly knapsack; it makes 
me feel quite ashamed of you,” 


96 


Fables and Tales. 


“My dear child,” answered he, “this knapsack 
is my greatest treasure; so long as I keep it I need 
not fear anything in the whole world,” and then 
he showed her what wonderful qualities it had. 
Then she fell on his neck as if she would have 
kissed him, but, by a clever trick, she slipped the 
knapsack over his shoulder and ran away with it. 
As soon as she was alone she struck upon it and 
summoned the soldiers, and bade them seize her 
husband and bring him to the king’s palace. They 
obeyed, and the false woman had many more to 
follow behind, so as to be ready to drive him out of 
the country. 

He would have been quite done for if he had 
not still kept the hat. As soon as he could get his 
hands free he pulled it twice forward on his head; 
and then the cannon began to thunder and beat all 
down, till at last the king’s daughter had to come 
and beg pardon. And as she prayed and promised 
to behave better, he raised her up and made peace 
with her. Then she grew very kind to him, and 
seemed to love him very much, until one day he 
confided to her that even if he were deprived of his 
knapsack nothing could be done against him as 
long as he should keep the old hat. And when 
she knew the secret she waited until he had gone 
to sleep; then she carried off the hat and had him 
driven out into the streets. Still the horn remained to 


Fables and Tales. 


97 


him, and in great wrath he blew a great blast upon 
it, and down came walls and fortresses, towns and 
villages, and buried the king and his daughter 
among their ruins. If he had not set down the 
horn when he did, and if he had blown a little 
longer, all the houses would have tumbled down, 
and there would not have been left one stone upon 
another. After this no one dared to withstand 
him, and he made himself king over the whole 
country. 

The Tinder=Box. 

A soldier came marching along the road. He 
had his knapsack on his back and his sword by his 
side, for he had been to the wars, and was now on 
his way home. As he went on, he met an old 
witch; she was very ugly, and her under lip hung 
down upon her breast. “Good evening, soldier,” 
she said. “What a fine sword you have, and what 
a big knapsack. You’re a proper soldier, and you 
shall have as much money as you like.” 

“Thank you, you old witch,” said the soldier. 

“Do you see that great tree,” said the witch, 
and she pointed to a tree which stood beside them. 
“It’s quite hollow inside. You must climb to the 
top, and then you will see a hole through which 
you can let yourself down, and get deep into the 
tree. I’ll tie a rope around your body, so that I 
can pull you up again when you call me.” 


98 


Fables and Tales . 


“What am I to do down in the tree?” asked the 
soldier. 

“Get money,” replied the witch. “Listen to me. 
When yon come down to the earth under the tree, 
you will find yourself in a great hall. It is quite 
light, for more than three hundred lamps are burn¬ 
ing there. Then you will see three doors; those 
you can open, for the keys are hanging there. If 



you go into the first chamber, you’ll see a great 
chest in the middle of the floor. On this chest sits 
a dog, and he’s got a pair of eyes as big as two tea 
cups. But you need not care for that. 

“I’ll give you my blue-checked apron, and you 
can spread it upon the floor. Then go up quickly 
and take the dog, and set him on my apron; then 
open the chest and take as many shillings as you 
like. They are of copper. If you prefer silver 




Fables and Tales . 


99 


you must go into the second chamber. But there 
sits a dog with a pair of eyes as big as mill-wheels. 
But do not care for that. Set him upon my apron, 
and take some of the money. 

“And if you want gold you can have that too— 
in fact, as much as you can carry—if you go into 
the third chamber. But the dog that sits on the 
money chest there has two eyes as big as round 
towers. He is a fierce dog, you may be sure; but 
you needn’t be afraid of him, for all that. Only 
set him on my apron, and he won’t hurt you. Then 
take out of the chest as much gold as you like.” 

“That’s not so bad,” said the soldier, “but what 
am I to give you, old witch? for I fancy you will 
not do this for nothiug.” 

“No,” replied the old witch, “not a single shil¬ 
ling will I have. You shall only bring me an old 
tinder-box which my grandmother forgot the last 
time she was down there.” 

“Then tie the rope round my body,” cried the 
soldier. 

“Here it is,” said the witch, “and here is my 
blue-checked apron.” 

Then the soldier climbed up into the tree, let 
himself slip into the hole, and stood in the great 
hall where the three hundred lamps were burning. 

Now he opened the first door. Ugh! there sat 
the dog with eyes as big as tea-cups staring at him. 


100 


Fables and Tales. 


“You’re a nice fellow,” exclaimed the soldier. 
Then he sat him on the witch’s apron, and took as 
many copper shillings as his pockets would hold. 
He locked the chest, sat the dog on it again, and 
went into the next chamber. Aha! there sat the 
dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels. 

“Yon should not stare so hard at me,” said the 
soldier; “yon might strain your eyes.” And he 
set the dog upon the witch’s apron. When he saw 
the silver money in the chest, he threw away all 
the copper money he had, and filled his pockets 
and his knapsack with silver. Then he went into 
the third chamber. Oh, that was horrid! The 
dog there really had eyes as big as towers, and 
they turned round and round in his head like 
wheels. 

“Good evening,” said the soldier, and he 
touched his cap, for he never had seen such a dog 
as that before. He lifted him down and opened 
the chest. Mercy! what a quantity of gold there 
was! He could buy the whole town with it, and 
the sugar sucking-pigs of the cake woman, and all 
the tin soldiers, whips, and rocking-horses in the 
whole world. 

Now the soldier threw away all his silver coin 
and took gold instead. Yes, all his pockets, his 
knapsack, his boots, and his cap were filled, so he 
could scarcely walk. Now indeed he had all the 


Fables and Tales. 


101 


money he wanted. He put the dog on the chest, 
shut the door, and called up through the tree, 
“Now pull me up, you old witch.” 

“Have you the tinder-box?” asked the witch. 

“Plague on it!” exclaimed the soldier; “I had 
clean forgotten that.” And he went and brought it. 

The witch drew him up, and he stood on the 
high road again, with pockets, knapsack, boots, 
and cap full of gold. 

“What are you going to do with the tinder- 
box?” asked the soldier. 

“That’s nothing to you,” retorted the witch. 
“You've had your money, just give me the tinder- 
box.” 

“Nonsense!” said the soldier. “Tell me at 
once what you are going to do with it, or I’ll draw 
my sword and cut off your head.” 

“No,” cried the witch. 

So the soldier cut off her head. There she lay. 
But he tied up all his money in her apron, took it 
on his back like a bundle, put the tinder-box in his 
pocket, and went straight off towards the town. 

II. 

That was a splendid town. And he put up at 
the very best inn, and asked for the finest rooms, 
and ordered his favorite dishes, for he was rich 
now, as he had so much money. Our soldier had 
become a fine gentleman; and the people told him 


102 


Fables and Tales . 


of all the fine things which were in the city, 
and about the king and what a pretty princess 
the king’s daughter was. 

“Where can one see her?” asked the soldier. 
“She is not to be seen at all,” they,said, all to¬ 
gether. “She lives in a great copper castle, with 
a great many walls and towers round it. No one 
but the king may go in and out there, for it has 
been foretold that she shall marry a common 
soldier, and the king can’t bear that.” 

“I should like to see her,” thought the soldier; 
but he could not get leave to do so. Now he lived 
merrily, and gave much money to the poor. This 
was very kind of him, for he knew from old times 
how hard it is when one has not a shilling. Now 
he was rich, and had fine clothes, and gained many 
friends, who all said he was a fine gentleman. 

But he spent his money every day and never 
earned any. At last he had only two shillings left, 
and he was obliged to turn out of his fine rooms 
and live in a little garret under the roof. None of 
his friends came to see him now, for there were too 
many stairs to climb. 

It was quite dark one evening, and he could 
not even buy himself a candle. He remembered 
that there was a candle-end in the tinder-box which 
he had taken out of the hollow of the tree. He 
brought out the tinder-box and the candle-end. 


Fables and Tales . 


103 


But as soon as lie struck fire and the sparks rose 
up from the flint, the door flew open and the dog 
who had eyes as big as a couple of tea-saucers, and 
whom he had seen in the tree, stood before him, 
and said: “What are my lord’s commands?” 

“What is this?” said the soldier. “That’s a 
famous tinder-box if I can get everything with it I 
want. Bring me some money,” said he to the dog. 
And whisk , and the dog was gone, and whisk , he 
was back again with a great bag full of shillings 
in his mouth. 

Now the soldier knew what a capital tinder-box 
this was. If he struck it once, the dog came who 
sat upon the chest of copper money; if he struck it 
twice, the dog came who had the silver; and if he 
struck it three times, the dog came who had the 
gold. Now the soldier moved back into the fine 
rooms, and appeared in handsome clothes. All his 
friends knew him again, and cared very much for 
him indeed. 

Once he thought to himself, “ It is very strange 
that one cannot get a sight of the princess. They 
all say she is very beautiful; but what is the use 
of all that if she has always to sit in the great 
copper castle with the many towers ? Can I not 
manage to see her at all ? Where is my tinder- 
box?” And so he struck a light, and whisk! came 
the dog with eyes as big as tea-cups. 


104 


Fables and Tales. 


“It is midnight, certainly,” said the soldier, 
“but I should like very much to see the princess, 
only for one little moment.” 

And the dog was outside the door directly, and, 
before the soldier thought it, came back with the 
princess. She sat upon the dog’s back and slept. 
Every one could see that she was a real princess, 
for she was so lovely. The soldier could not re¬ 
frain from kissing her, for he was a true soldier. 
Then the dog ran back again with the princess. 
But when morning came, and the king and queen 
were drinking tea, the princess said that she had 
had a strange dream the night before about a soldier 
and a dog. She dreamed that she had ridden upon 
the dog and the soldier had kissed her. 

“That would be a fine history, ” said the queen. 
So one of the old court ladies had to watch the next 
night by the princess’s bed, to see if this was really 
a dream, or what it might be. 

The soldier had a great longing to see the 
princess again; so the dog came in the night, took 
her away, and ran as fast as he could. But the old 
lady put on water-boots, and ran just as fast after 
him. When she saw that they both entered the 
a great house, she thought, “Now I know where it 
is.” Then she drew a great cross on the door with 
a bit of chalk. 

Then she went home and lay down, and the 


Fables and Tales. 


105 


dog came up with the princess. But when he saw 
that there was a cross drawn on the door where the 
soldier lived, he took a piece of chalk too, and drew 
crosses on all the doors in town. And that was 
cleverly done, for now the lady could not find the 
right door, because all the doors had crosses upon 
them. 

Ill 

Early in the morning came the king and queen, 
and the old court lady, and all the officers to see 
where the princess had been. “Here it is,” said 
the king, when he saw the first door with a cross 
upon it.” “No, my dear husband, it is there,” said 
the queen, who saw another door which had a cross 
upon it. “But there is one, and there is one,” said 
all, for wherever they looked, there were crosses on 
the doors. So they saw that they could not find 
the house if they searched all day. 

But the queen was a very clever woman, and 
could do more than ride in a coach. She took her 
great gold scissors, cut a piece of silk into pieces, 
and made a neat little bag. This bag she filled 
with fine wheat flour, and tied it on the princess’s 
back. When that was done, she cut a little hole 
in the bag, so the flour would be scattered along 
all the way which the princess should take. 

In the night the dog came again and took the 
princess on his back and ran with her to the soldier, 


106 


Fables and Tales. 


who loved her very much. He wished he were a 
prince so he might marry her. The dog did not 
notice at all how the flour ran out in a stream from 
the castle to the windows of the soldier’s house, 
where he ran up the wall with the princess. In 
the morning the king and queen saw well enough 
where their daughter had been, and they took the 
soldier and put him in prison. 

There he sat all the day. Oh, but it was very 
dark and dismal there! And they said to him, 
“To-morrow you shall be hanged.” That was not 
pleasant to hear, and he had left his tinder-box at 
the inn. In the morning he could see, through the 
iron grating in his little window, how the people 
were hurrying out of the town to see him hanged. 
He heard the drums beat, and saw the soldiers 
marching. All the people were running out, and 
among them was a shoemaker’s boy with a leather 
apron and slippers. He galloped so fast that one 
of his slippers flew off and came right against the 
wall where the soldier was looking through the 
iron grating. 

“Halloo, you shoemaker’s boy! you needn’t be 
in such a hurry,” cried the soldier to him. “It 
will not begin until I get there. But if you will 
run to where I lived and bring me my tinder-box, 
you shall have four shillings; but you must put 
your best leg foremost.” 


Fables and Tales. 


107 


The shoemaker’s boy wanted to get the four 
shillings, so he went and brought the tinder-box 
a nd well, we shall hear now what happened. 

Outside the town a great gallows had been built, 
and around it stood the soldiers and many hundred 
thousand people. The king and queen sat on a 
splendid throne, opposite to the judges and the 
council. The soldier already stood upon the ladder. 
Just as they were about to put the rope around his 
neck, he said to them that before a poor criminal 
suffered his punishment, some innocent request 
was always granted him. He wanted very much 
to smoke a pipe of tobacco; as it would be the last 
pipe he should smoke in the world. 

The king could not say no to this, so the soldier 
took his tinder-box and struck fire. One—two— 
three, and there suddenly stood all the dogs—the 
one with eyes as big as tea-cups, the one with eyes 
as large as mill-wheels, and the one whose eyes 
were as big round as towers. 

“Help me now so I shall not be hanged,” said 
the soldier. And the dogs fell upon the judge 
and all the council, and siezed one by the leg, an¬ 
other by the nose, and tossed them all many feet 
into the air, so that they fell down and were all 
broken to pieces. 

“ I won’t,” cried the king; but the biggest dog 
took him and the queen and threw them after the 


108 


Fables and Tales. 


others. Then the soldiers were afraid, and the 
people cried, “Little soldier, you shall be our king, 
and marry the beautiful princess.” 

So they put the soldier into the king’s coach, 
and all the three dogs started on in front and cried 
“Hurrah!” and the boys whistled through their 
fingers, and the soldiers presented arms. The prin¬ 
cess came out of the copper castle, and became 
queen, and she liked that very well. The wedding 
lasted a week, and the three dogs sat at the table 
too, and opened their eyes wider than ever at all 
they saw. 

Aladdin; or. The Wonderful Lamp. 

Aladdin was the son of a poor widow who lived 
in a city in China. She had to work hard for her¬ 
self and Aladdin, and so had very little time to look 
after him. 

One day, when he was playing in the streets 
with a lot of children, a man came up to him and 
told him that he was his uncle. 

Aladdin had never heard that he had an uncle, 
but as the man spoke kindly, and told him that he 
meant to do great things for him, he believed him; 
and when he asked him to take a walk into the 
country, went without fear. 

The stranger led him along until they came to 
a valley between two high hills. Here he stopped, 


Fables and Tales. 


109 


and told Aladdin to gather all the dried sticks that 
that he could find. When they were gathered into 
a heap he set fire to them. 

Then he threw into the flames some powder 
which he had with him. The earth opened, and 
showed a large flat stone with a ring in it. 

He next told Aladdin to take hold of the ring 
and lift the stone. It swung back like a trap-door, 
and they saw a stone stairway leading down into 
the earth. 

“Now,” said the stranger, “you must go down 
the stairway, and pass through three large halls 
which lead one into another. 

“From the last you must go out into a garden, 
in which you will see a lamp burning. Take the 
lamp down, put out the light, and bring it to me.” 
He ended by putting a ring upon Aladdin’s finger, 
which he said was a charm that would protect him; 
and sent him down the stairs. 

He reached the garden and found the lamp. As 
he came back he saw that the trees were were cov¬ 
ered with pieces of glass of beautiful colors. He 
gathered a lot of them, and put them away in his 
his pockets. As soon as he reached the stairway, 
the stranger called to him to hand up the lamp. 

“Not until I am out, uncle,” said Aladdin. 

At this the man lost his temper, and told him 
to hand it up at once. 


110 


Fables and Tales. 


But Aladdin would not part with it until he 
was safe above ground. 

When the stranger saw this he flew into a rage, 
and threw more of the powder on the fire. The 
stone dropped into its place, and Aladdin was shut 
in the cavern. 

Now the stranger was not Aladdin’s uncle at 
all, but a man who had heard of the lamp in the 
garden. 

This was his plan for getting it. It was out of 
his power to open the cavern a second time, so he 
left as quickly as he could for his home in Africa. 

Aladdin was in the cavern, in darkness, for two 
days. At the end of that time he thought he was 
going to die of hunger, and put his hands together 
to pray. As he did so, he rubbed the ring which 
the stranger had put on his finger. The cavern at 
once filled with a cloudy light, and an immense 
geni arose out of the ground, and said:— 

“ What would you have ? I am ready to obey 
— I and all the other slaves of that ring.” 

Aladdin was almost speechless with fright, but 
said that all he wished was to be at home once 
more. 

He found himself there at once, safe, but very 
hungry. When he asked his mother for food, she 
had to tell him that she had none to give him. He 
thought of the lamp and asked her if she could not 


Fables and Tales. 


Ill 


sell it, and buy something to eat. She looked at 
it, and said that if it were cleaned she might be 
able to get a little for it. 

So she took a cloth and began to rub it, when, 
with a clap of thunder, there arose before them an¬ 
other geni, who said:— 

What would you have ? I am ready to obey, 
as the slave of that lamp—I and all the other slaves 
of the lamp.” 

Aladdin’s mother nearly fainted, but Aladdin 
took the lamp from her hands and said, boldly:— 

“ Bring us something to eat.” 

The geni left, but soon came back with a silver 
tray full of the best food, and Aladdin and his 
mother sat down and ate. 

Now that he knew the power of the lamp, he 
kept on getting food for his mother and himself in 
the same way. 

They sold the silver trays it was brought on, and 
bought what they needed with the money. Alad¬ 
din dressed well and neatly and stopped playing 
with the boys in the street. 

One day, as he stood near the public baths, he 
saw the sultan’s daughter. She had the loveliest 
face he had ever seen, and he fell deeply in love 
with her. When he went home, he told his mother 
that she must go to the sultan, and ask for him 
the hand of the princess in marriage. 


112 


Fables and Tales. 


“ Why, son ” said she, 1 ' have you lost your sen¬ 
ses? The sultan would not give it.” 

“But mother,” said Aladdin, “those pieces of 
glass, as we thought them, which I brought home 
from the underground garden, are gems of the 
greatest value. I feel sure that if you take them 
to the sultan as a present, he will listen to you.” 

His mother went to the sultan’s palace and told 
him what she wanted. 

He smiled, but when he saw the present, he 
said, “Your son may well ask for the hand of a 
princess if he is rich enough to make such a pres¬ 
ent as that. So, say to him that if he will send me 
forty white slaves, each leading a black slave, and 
each black slave bearing a vase full of such gems 
as these, he shall have the hand of the princess.” 

When Aladdin’s mother gave her son the sul¬ 
tan’s message, he was wild with delight. With the 
aid of the geni of the lamp he at once did what the 
sultan wished. A train of slaves marched to the 
palace, Aladdin’s mother at the head. 

“Madam,” said the sultan, “tell your son to 
come here at once. I wish to see him.” 

So Aladdin called upon the geni again, to pro¬ 
vide rich garments for himself and his mother, 
fine horses to ride upon, and a large train of slaves 
to attend them. Then they started for the sultan’s 
palace. 


Fables and Tales. 


113 


The sultan was very much pleased with Alad¬ 
din, and seating him upon his right hand, talked 
with him. He found him so clever that he was 
charmed, and said that the marriage should take 
place at once. 

Aladdin, however, wished to wait until he could 
build a palace fit for the princess. To this the 
sultan agreed, and it was settled that it should be 
built near the sultan’s own palace. 

The palace was in its place the next moruing 
and the marriage took place, with great display; 
and Aladdin and the princess lived together, for a 
time, in happiness. 

But the fame of all this spread far and wide— 
even to Africa, where lived the stranger who had 
left Aladdin in the cavern. He knew at once that 
Aladdin must have escaped, and he made up his 
mind to go to China and try to get the lamp away 
from him. 

He bought a stock of lamps, and went under 
the palace windows, and began to cry:— 

“New lamps for old ones! New lamps for old 
ones!” 

He made such a noise that the princess heard 
him. She hunted for an old lamp, and found Alad¬ 
din’s. This was sent out to the stranger, and he 
gladly gave a new one for it. At once he made the 
geni take the palace and all that was in it to Africa. 



114 


Fables and Tales. 


When the sultan heard of it, his grief and rage 
were terriblej and he ordered Aladdin to leave the 
city, and not to return without the princess. 

Poor Aladdin went with very little hope, and 
after a long time was about to drown himself, when 
he thought of the magic ring which he still wore 
upon his finger. He rubbed it and the geni came 
and asked what he wanted. Aladdin begged for 
his princess and palace. 

“That is beyond my power,” said the geni. 
“Only the slave of the lamp can do that.” 

“Then, at least, carry me to where they are,” 
said Aladdin. 

He at once found himself under the walls of his 
palace, where it stood near a city in Africa. 

Great was the joy of the princess and Aladdin 
to be together once more. After a while, Aladdin 
asked the princess if she knew what had become 
of the old lamp which had stood upon a shelf in his 
dressing-room. 

Then she told Aladdin how she had given the 
lamp for a new one*, and had found herself, the 
next morning, in Africa. 

Then they made a plan to get rid of their 
enemy. Aladdin bought a drug that would put 
any one to sleep. 

The next morning the princess put a part of it 
into a glass of wine. This she gave to the 


Fables and Tales. 


115 


stranger. He drank it and fell into a sound sleep. 
As soon as he was asleep, Aladdin took the lamp 
from his hand, called the geni and told him to 
carry the palace back to China. 

The sultan gave a great feast in his joy at see¬ 
ing them. 

Ever after, Aladdin was very careful to keep his 
lamp in a safe place. 

When the sultan died, at a good old age, the 
princess and Aladdin became the rulers. They 
ruled wisely, and lived long, loved by all their 
people. 



























































































































































































































